Blogs related with: Society

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  A long term vision for Central America

  Here in Mexico, as around the world, we are haunted by the wrenching image of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, 25, and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, nestled together on the bank of the Rio Grande after they drowned in the river near the international bridge to Texas. This tragedy shines an unforgiving light on the President Trump’s crackdown on legal asylum claims at the border.
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  Our Youth Deserve an Education Model Designed for Excellence

  Last week I had the privilege of attending the Graduation Ceremony of Plantel Azteca school, where Grupo Salinas is working to develop and evolve an educational model that generates a true Cultural Change through an education of excellence and values.
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  Venezuelans Deserve a Free and Prosperous Country

  When considering the current situation in Venezuela, it is an excellent time to remember the most famous words of Benito Juarez, a founding father of the modern democratic republic of Mexico. Today, Venezuelans remain trapped in a lose-lose situation. While the government of dictator Nicolas Maduro crushes the rights and freedoms of individuals, the United States threatens military intervention to "resolve the situation." Both scenarios are unacceptable.
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  A Misdirect in Our Fight Against Poverty

  For several years, under the pretext of fighting “inequality," certain organizations have supported an international movement against wealth— but it is clear that fighting the accumulation of wealth alone does not alleviate poverty. On the contrary, in certain contexts the socioeconomic class struggle adopted by these organizations can even deepen conditions of extreme poverty by negatively impacting sustainable economic development opportunities for those who need them most.
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  A wall to separate us from reason

  How did President Trump go from a simple campaign promise — “the wall” — devised by political advisers for a candidate who “hated reading from a script,” to threats of a national emergency and an executive-led shutdown that has held 800,000 government workers and their families hostage for the longest period in U.S. history? A move that, paradoxically leaves the US far less safe, from TSA agents to immigration enforcement, to food safety— all for what national security experts agree to be nothing more than a colossally ineffective symbol with a $5.7 billion to $20 billion price tag. A wall that, tellingly, every congressman from a district along the U.S.-Mexico border opposes.
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  Mexico's Challenges

  At the end of this past year, I had the privilege of participating in the awards ceremony for the Caminos de la Libertad (“Roads of Freedom”) essay contest, where we also awarded the “A Life for Freedom” award to Armando Ribas, an economist who, at 86 years of age, has led a most interesting life and maintains his youthful spirit.
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  Mises in México (2): Capital and Poverty

  In June I published the first article in this series. Recall that Mises arrived in México in 1942 at the invitation of Luis Montes de Oca director of the Bank of México, in order to offer a series of lectures at the National Autonomous University of Mexico on the serious economic problems facing our country.
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  The Rubble

  Today, we commemorated two catastrophic earthquakes. The first, in 1985, and the other, just a year ago. Because of the major human and material losses it caused, the earthquake that occurred 33 years ago changed Mexico in many ways. These include its culture of disaster prevention, a strengthening of civil society, and the relationship between citizens and those running the government. Last year's earthquake will also provide lessons and have long-term effects on Mexican society.
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  World Robotics Challenge: We Can be Optimistic About the Future

  Once again, Mexico hosted a world-class international event: the World Robotics Championship, the 2018 FIRST Global Challenge, which was held for the first time outside the United States.
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  Esteban Moctezuma

  Over the course of 18 years full of achievements that have benefitted millions of people, Esteban Moctezuma has led the work of Fundación Azteca. Guided by an enormous passion, Esteban is one of the people most dedicated to social action who I have ever met.
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  Von Mises in Mexico (1): Trade is Peace

  In 1942, Ludwig von Mises published a visionary article in the Mexican journal Cuadernos Americanos, whose lessons, unfortunately, are ignored by most of today’s governing politicians. In his writing, Mises explained that the main reason for this terrible conflict was the economic nationalism practiced with great enthusiasm by the governments of various nations during the 1930s, as a false solution to the Great Depression that was triggered by the 1929 stock market crash.
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  Ten Years

  Ten years ago I began to publish this blog as a space to share my ideas and views on a variety topics, ranging from the world of business and economics, to education, science, the arts, citizenship, and many others, with the purpose of provoking reflection and encouraging cultural change that banishes the failed ideas and habits that erode our development possibilities.
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  Coco, An Homage to Mexico

  Recently, I had the opportunity to watch Coco, an extraordinary film from Disney-Pixar that was destined to win this year’s Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song. The film’s success extends well beyond the Oscars— it was nominated for 113 different awards and honors from around the world, and has won 87, including two BAFTAs and two Golden Globes.
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  The enduring bond between the US and Mexico

  There is a puzzling paradox. On one hand, from drugs and gangs to illegal immigration, many people in the United States seem to blame important domestic problems on people from Mexico. On the other hand, all around the world, but especially in the United States, there seems to be an endless charm about all things Mexican.
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  Cruelly, irrationally, US would let valuable Dreamers slip away

  Human capital is the most valuable form of wealth. In the case of the United States, decades of positive demographic growth, driven mostly by immigration, have been the key to its standing as a world economic powerhouse. Many are puzzled by the news coming out of the White House regarding the Trump administration’s plans to address the fate of the nation’s own undocumented youth population.
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  The Inevitable

  I’d like to address this article to our youth. Let’s think about the next two decades. Over the past few months I've brought up the topic during talks at universities throughout Mexico. Many of you will develop your careers in this period and it’s worth taking a few moments to think about what may happen.
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  Freedom of Commerce?

  The land of the free has one of the most restrictive and absurd laws that has ever been enacted. We’re talking about the Jones Act of 1920, an expression of the most infamous protectionism, legislation that requires merchant marine shipping between all ports of the United States to be made exclusively with vessels and crews of this nationality.
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  Mexico is Still Standing

  Just days after an earthquake that devastated three states in southern Mexico, its people were again put to the test by Mother Nature. The loss of human life, sense of helplessness, pain, wounds, and fear were patently obvious. But, as always, Mexico is back on its feet, showing the world that it is an unbreakable and united country.
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  An Idea Made Into an Image Will Never Be Forgotten

  We recently awarded the winners of the second Caminos de la Libertad cartoon competition. This is a good time to offer some brief thoughts on the importance of cartoons as a medium for the defense of freedoms.
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  Against the dictatorship, let’s raise our voice

  A few days ago, "elections" were held in Venezuela to establish a National Constituent Assembly. The aim is to rewrite the constitution so that the "Bolivarian" regime of Nicolás Maduro can perpetuate itself in power in accordance with the Cuban model that has brought so much "prosperity" to its people.
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  Twenty Years

  Twenty years ago, we planted a tree that has given us splendid fruits: the Plantel Azteca School. With this initiative, we learned that Mexico can achieve the highest educational standards and that we should aspire to education of excellence for our children. You only have to work hard to achieve it. Mexico deserves nothing less.
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  Economics in a Nutshell

  Economics writer Henry Hazlitt does a great job explaining complex issues simply in "Economics in One Lesson". Although the book was first published in 1946, it’s more relevant today than ever.
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  The Anti-Capitalist Mentality

  It’s striking how "capitalism" is a forbidden, almost obscene word for some politicians in Mexico. We continually hear arguments for and against the system, but Ludwig von Mises' The Anti-Capitalist Mentality provides an interesting view on the sources of the criticisms of the model, without which it’s impossible to explain modern life.
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  Weakening Mexico Harms the United States

  On a recent visit to Chicago, a city that looks to the future and not the past, I spoke to some friends about the contradictions and the "alternative reality" that is being spread by the new administration in Washington concerning Mexico.
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  Never Give Up

  I recently received a copy of "Grinding it Out, The Making of McDonalds," written by the company founder Ray Kroc in collaboration with another author.
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  From Plantel Azteca to the World: Mario Molina’s Student

  The most important form of wealth is human capital. Knowledge, talent, people’s intelligence is what matters the most. In order to develop and bring this human capital to its full potential, education plays a key role.
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  From Plantel Azteca to the World: an International Class Consultant

  A few months ago I began to publish a series of entries in my blog in which I share success stories scored by graduates of the Plantel Azteca educational program. These are cases that have left their mark even beyond Mexico.
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  The Bridge

  In recent days, the insanity regarding Mexico has grown in the United States. I’m bewildered by the avalanche of fallacies that seek to break up what has been a successful alliance between two nations. Amid this whirlwind, a group of young people from both countries are teaching us that things can be very different.
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  The Storm That Threatens Us From the North

  In November I commented on my blog that the winds have changed. It’s now clear that beyond a change in wind direction, we are facing a storm of enormous proportions: the insanity surrounding Mexico increasingly dominates and clouds the horizon.
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  Who Will Pay for the Wall?

  My father, Hugo Salinas Price, published an article in the Mexican daily El Financiero that I would like to share.
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  The fear of failure

  I like to start the year with an article that inspires us, especially in this 2017 in which "the winds have changed". The TED forum always offers interesting and inspiring discussions, of which I typically select some to comment on in this blog.
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  The Winds Have Changed

  Of this we can be sure. This is not the first time we face formidable challenges, either as a country, or in this group of companies. In Grupo Salinas we have successfully resolved all the difficulties that we have faced. There are sound reasons why we been in existence for 110 years. In our history we have weathered many storms, from the Mexican Revolution through the "December Error" that led to the peso’s abrupt and sharp devaluation, along the way experiencing the macro-devaluations of the 1980s. We should remember that each of these developments eliminated thousands of companies and millions of jobs.
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  On the Shoulders of Giants

  Sunday October 30 will mark the 66th anniversary of the founding of Grupo Elektra. The group has grown from a small factory that assembled radios with a handful of employees to a true multinational conglomerate with over 60,000 employees and operations in industries as diverse as banking, retirement fund management, microcredit, securities brokerage and of course, retailing.
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  Mission accomplished

  On Sunday October 9, for the eighth time, we organized a clean-up and environmental awareness campaign known as Limpiemos Nuestro México (LNM). Even though in some cities we had to contend with unfavorable weather, we witnessed the enthusiastic participation of millions of people who are willing to change their environment, literally in "rain or shine".
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  Music Brings Down Walls

  Music has a very powerful transformative quality. After six years of promoting the Esperanza Azteca Orchestras, we have witnessed changes in the lives of thousands of youth who have been part of this program.
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  Hernán Cortés: Visionary and Creator of a New Nation – Part 3

  Conclusions... and a television series to settle accounts with the past
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  Hernán Cortés: Visionary and Creator of a New Nation - Part 2

  Shortly after Cortés’ arrival in what is now Mexico, an Aztec delegation made its appearance and brought sumptuous gifts, which amazed the Spaniards. Moctezuma, the great Mexica Tlatoani, had been aware of the Spaniards in the Antilles for more than two decades, thanks to an extensive intelligence network.
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  Hernán Cortés: Visionary and Creator of a New Nation – Part 1

  Hernán Cortés led a fascinating life. This is not only because with very few resources -albeit with much practical and political astuteness- he defeated the most powerful empire in Mesoamerica, but also due to his firm conviction to create a great mestizo nation, without Spanish domination and with a deep respect for the ancestral indigenous culture.
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  From Plantel Azteca to the world: the first specialized operating system in computer forensics

  Education is a key issue that I regularly write about in this blog because I think that it is the cornerstone of our future. Human capital is the most important form of wealth that exists.
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  Minimum Wage and Economics for Bakers

  This is clearly a sensitive issue and it’s considered politically incorrect to say you’re against an increase in the minimum wage. Once again, I will take this risk because we must be honest and straightforward: as any other price in the economy, salaries cannot be set by decree.
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  A Different Education Model

  "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." George Bernard Shaw
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  Dementia when it comes to Mexico

  This week I read a very much on-target opinion piece written by Bret Stephens and published by The Wall Street Journal, concerning the dementia that exists when it comes to Mexico in the context of the presidential race in the United States.
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  The March of Folly

  The history of humanity is often a litany of surprising economic, technological, and social advances. Unfortunately, setbacks are also recorded, especially those related to decisions by top government officials that have resulted in terrible consequences for millions of people.
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  Eight Years

  Eight years have gone by since I began publishing this blog and now it’s time to pause and reflect. My intention from the beginning has been to open a space to share ideas and views on business, the economy, science and other topics.
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  Questions and Answers for Entrepreneurs

  I would like to share an interview that I gave to Thought Economics web site, along with other global businessmen, about what it means to be an entrepreneur today.
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  What’s Wrong With Wealth?

  My advisors assure me that defending millionaires is unpopular and politically incorrect. Nevertheless, the issue at hand is not about defending millionaires or billionaires in a senseless class struggle. Something greater is at stake, namely, the future that we envision.
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  The Newly "Enlightened"

  In November, I noticed an article on the recommendations of some "experts" of the International Diabetes Federation. They proposed to the G20 leaders that a sugar consumption tax to "save lives" be established.
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  A Story of Gratitude to Start the Year

  I recently read a story on gratitude and appreciation, sent by economic analyst Marc Faber, that I hope will be of interest. Wishing you all prosperity and growth for the New Year!
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  The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy

  I have recently come across several reports where an internationally recognized NGO expressed its concern over increased inequality in Mexico, citing that in 20 years, the wealth of the 25 wealthiest families grew from $US25.00 billion to US$142.90 billion. In my opinion, the way in which these articles were written makes us think that for some strange reason, "being rich is bad". I think that this is not a message that leads to greater prosperity.
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  Poverty and Inequality

  Poverty and inequality are undoubtedly two different things, but people still often confuse them. What's the worst of the two options? Surely, poverty, and we should concentrate efforts in combating it. If we manage to do so, many other social problems will be resolved and we will have a more prosperous society.
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  Keep the Greek Debacle From Spreading

  In July 2011 I published a blog entry entitled "Greek Lessons," where I described the terrible plight and noted that financial discipline is always important, but especially so in the public sector given the danger of excessive government spending.
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  Thank you for cleaning up Mexico!

  Once again, millions of people from throughout the country helped clean up Mexico. On Sunday, September 22, thanks to the participation of 8.8 million people organized in 200,000 brigades, we collected almost 50,000 tons of garbage from streets, squares, parks, avenues, and many other public spaces.
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  Collateral Damage

  Last Sunday, in broad daylight, the Egyptian armed forces attacked a group of tourists who were travelling in the western part of the country. At least 12 Mexicans and Egyptians were killed and ten others were injured after the military launched a lightning air attack on the travelers.
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  Limpiemos Nuestro México 2015: Register Your Brigade!

  The relationship between companies, society, and government is more necessary today than ever, since success in business and the development of society mutually reinforce each other. This follows the principle of "shared value," namely that prosperous companies create prosperous communities and vice versa.
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  The United States Doesn’t Need a Bigger Wall

  Despite numerous and complex bilateral issues, Mexico is an important strategic partner for the United States. Likewise, the United States is without a doubt key for the Mexican economy. This is easily forgotten when representatives of the most backward sectors of both countries express their views in the media. Nonetheless, a few key pieces of data illustrate the importance.
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  TED 2015: Sensory Substitution

  Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to attend the TED 2015 conference. As soon as the videos are uploaded on the TED website, I will share my views on my favorite talks in a series of entries.
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  The war on drugs has failed; it’s time to move on

  Last week Reuters published this op-ed worldwide that I am sharing in this blog. Since this is a controversial subject it should be approached with honesty and involve our greatest thinkers on this delicate issue, especially in light of recent events.
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  Improving Our Electoral System

  Following Mexico’s recent midterm elections, here are a few thoughts.It seems that many people are pleased that the campaigns have come to an end. And it’s not because they are necessarily satisfied with what the campaigns or the results; but rather because the merciless bombardment of radio and television ads has finally come to an end. The slew of radio and television spots is the most annoying expression of an electoral system that no longer makes sense.
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  Esperanza Azteca reaches the White House

  The White House, the official residency of the President of the United States, is a venue where very few musicians have had the privilege to showcasing their talent. A group of children from Esperanza Azteca did just that on May 5 during the celebration of Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla, 153 years ago.
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  Renew or die

  I would like to share my recent contribution to the Mexican dailies El Financiero and El Horizonte. I hope you find it interesting.
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  Let’s Heed the Call of the Future

  I recently had the honor of presenting my thesis for my Honoris Causa doctorate to Autonomous University of Guadalajara President Antonio Leaño Reyes, together with other members of the university community. I was also honored with the presence of Jalisco Governor Aristóteles Sandoval.
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  Criminalizing poverty

  I would like to share my article published by the dailies El Financiero and El Horizonte of Monterrey on this blog. I hope you will find it interesting.
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  A young voice against populism

  I often comment on the dangers that democracy faces from frequent bouts of populism, encouraged by the recurring failures of the existing political systems. This has been coupled with a global economic crisis from which we have yet to emerge. In Latin America, people naturally feel overwhelmed by permanent austerity and a lack of opportunities to achieve better living standards.
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  Our social commitment in 2014

  Today, companies have become true vehicles of social change, since in addition to creating jobs and wealth, they are an important medium for transforming the communities in which they operate.
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  We Deserve a Safe, Just, and Prosperous Mexico

  The main function of the State is to ensure the safety of its citizens. This has been reiterated by philosophers, jurists, and political scientists through history. Unfortunately, insecurity in Mexico has grown significantly in the past decade.
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  The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

  Volumes have been written about the Crusades, the series of wars in which European Christians sought to take, by any means, the holy places under Muslim control between the 11th and 13th centuries AD. If we seek peace, it is particularly interesting to understand the views of the different parties to the conflict. "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes," written by Amin Maalouf, focuses on how Muslims viewed the series of battles that lasted almost two hundred years.
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  The Powerful Example of Helping

  We recently presented our Donativo Hormiga 2014 award to help charitable organizations such as Ojos que Sienten, Metamorfosis, La Casita de San Angel, Risaterapia, and many others whose work is a tremendous example.
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  Presentation Zen

  One quality that we value at Grupo Salinas is being fast and simple. In a globalized world, rapid response is key and simplicity is a necessary condition to achieve speed. But simplicity has value in itself. Simplifying complexities is a sign of useful intelligence.
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  Freedom and the Market

  I recently visited the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) to discuss the leadership and cultural change, a crucial issue for Mexico. I discussed the growth in government spending and the key role of civil society. I commented that one of the main problems we face is the horrible idea that the government will resolve all of our problems. As noted in "The Great Degeneration" by Niall Ferguson, there is no idea more dangerous than the belief that the government will resolve all of our problems. Liberal thinking is a powerful antidote to such thoughts.
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  More on the Rational Optimist

  Two years ago in this blog I shared my views on a book written by Matt Ridley entitled The Rational Optimist. According to Ridley, humankind has developed an unmatched capacity to resolve its most pressing challenges. Nevertheless, it is interesting to discover that in the past two hundred years pessimists have dominated the debate on the global issues that matter the most. But ever since Malthus, they have all failed in their dark forecasts.
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  Mexico’s potential

  A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to be in Washington D.C. to talk with some members of the New America Foundation, a prestigious think tank, in a dialogue with its director Anne-Marie Slaughter.
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  Six Thinking Hats

  I recently posted a blog on what I believe to be the basic rules for success in business, which happened to be one of the most visited by readers. But business issues are never-ending, and luckily there is always additional material to share with readers.
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  The Panama Canal - Part 3

  The new Republic of Panama, initially represented by Bunau-Varilla, granted the United States perpetual rights to the canal and a large area of eight kilometers on each side of it in exchange for a sum of 10 million dollars and an annual rental payment of 250,000 dollars. Once the U.S. government acquired all the rights, machinery, equipment and the construction work already completed by the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama for US$ 40 million, it moved in to resume this mammoth project, although on many levels it had to be started over from scratch.
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  The Panama Canal - Part 2

  Given the failure of the French initiative, the United States, under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, took up the project of an inter-oceanic canal. The U.S. Navy was gradually gaining worldwide hegemony and after the war against Spain in 1898, Washington concluded that a canal in Central America was essential to ensure the maritime supremacy of the rising world power.
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  The Panama Canal - Part 1

  The complex labyrinth of events that led to the building of the canal represented a great human odyssey from which we can draw innumerable lessons. On August 3, 1914, a date very close to the outbreak of World War I, the Cristobál, ship carrying cement, unceremoniously undertook the maiden voyage through the canal and a few days later, on August 15, the Ancón was present for the official opening. Last year I had the opportunity to read the fantastic book by David McCullough entitled The Path Between the Seas, which in its more than 600 pages chronicles the monumental work of engineering, policy decisions, and financial arrangements required to build the Panama Canal.
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  Attitudes and trends of the new consumer

  In difficult times, we are increasingly seeing more examples of what my friend David Konzevik has called the expectation revolution.
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  Cloud Schools: an educational revolution

  Some time ago I began to write a monthly article for Newsweek en Español and one of my first pieces dealt with educational innovation, a favorite topic. - See more at: http://www.ricardosalinas.com/blog/blog.aspx#sthash.FqFkXUZE.dpuf
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  Let’s Clean Up Mexico!

  I recently shared my thoughts on the book The Great Degeneration, by Niall Ferguson. I think the book is key to understanding the severity of the eroding of the foundations of Western civilization.
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  Revealed Memory: a Graphic Reflection on Our History

  On April 29 we inaugurated the exhibit entitled Revealed Memory: The Emergence of Archaeological Photography in the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso. The exhibit features the work of French artist Claude Désiré Charnay (1828-1915), and for the first time brings together a selection of his photographs. These were the first photographs shot at archaeological sites in Mexico.
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  There are no mistakes, only lessons

  Decision-making is an everyday thing and we normally expect our choices to generate positive results. We constantly make decisions about trivial or transcendental affairs, but there is always a risk we must take; to choose is to accept and many times we are exposed to errors.
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  For a Shared Prosperity

  Twenty years have passed since the North American Free Trade Commerce came into effect and Mexico is now seen as a land of opportunity in different parts of the world. I couldn’t agree more.
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  The Classics and Their RelevanceToday

  History is fascinating, but The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox is particularly noteworthy. The book describes a thousand years of human development, from the 8th century BC with Homer to the dawn of the Christian era with Emperor Hadrian.
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  The Great Degeneration

  Recently, during the awards ceremony of Limpiemos Nuestro México 2013 cleanup campaign, I commented on the importance of collaboration between civil society, government, and companies to resolve serious problems that affect us all. Awareness and action are key to achieving the cultural change that Mexico needs to embark on, because "a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
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  Clean Energy in Mexico

  I recently inaugurated the first wind farm in Jalisco, together with Jalisco Governor Aristóteles Sandoval, Mexican Energy Minister Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, the CEO of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Enrique Ochoa Reza and Grupo Dragón CEO José Pablo Fernández. The wind farm is the first to be built at 2,500 meters above sea level in the Western Hemisphere and it will displace more than 79,000 tons of CO2 that would otherwise be spewed into the atmosphere with traditional power generation. The project is located in the community of Ojuelos in Los Altos.
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  Limpiemos Nuestro México: Strength is in our unity

  January 24 was a very important day for us. We concluded the 2013 Limpiemos Nuestro México cleanup campaign and held the corresponding awards ceremony. I can say that after five years of intensive work we are beginning to see concrete results.
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  The Zimmermann Telegram

  In 1917 the war in Europe was bogged down. The United Kingdom knew that only the United States could provide it with a needed advantage. However, our northern neighbors remained firm in their neutrality. There was even strong support for Germany within some circles, but that’s another story.
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  Some thoughts to start the New Year

  A few years ago I posted a poem by Rudyard Kipling that I recommend reading anew. Today I would like to share a thought to help start 2014 in full swing.
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  In Atlas, we play to the limit

  In December, when our acquisition of Club Atlas went public, I said on Twitter that "it's a privilege, a commitment, and a great responsibility to give the fans and Club Atlas the support they deserve." More recently, in Guadalajara, I officially reaffirmed my commitment to faithful Atlas fans.
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  Sandy Hook

  A year ago, a completely mentally unbalanced man murdered 20 children and six adults in cold blood at Sandy Hook, an elementary school in Newton, Connecticut. His mother was an enthusiastic and irresponsible gun collector.
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  Myths and Curses

  This past weekend I had the honor of attending the Guadalajara International Book Fair, where my friend Jacques Rogozinski launched his book, Mitos y mentadas de la economía mexicana. Jacques shares his insight and experience as a public official concerning the economic issues that we all are interested in, or at the very least affect us.
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  The Red Queen

  I recently revisited an interesting book by evolutionary scientist Matt Ridley that was the subject of a previous blog. Ridley addresses the hypothesis known in the scientific community as The Red Queen, where continuous adaptation is necessary for a species to keep in shape with respect to its environment.
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  Donativo Hormiga: Small steps, big actions

  We recently held the 2013 Donativo Hormiga donation campaign, an initiative promoted by Fundacion Azteca, Red Social Azteca, and Grupo Elektra. Through this initiative we support many local organizations dedicated to helping the neediest sectors of Mexican society.
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  Dangerous Ideas

  At Grupo Salinas we appreciate good ideas. Personally I believe that ideas not only belong to whoever conceives them, but also to those who apply them. I've always said that I am a Zapatista when it comes to ideas, with the mantra that "ideas belong to those who work them."
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  Why Nations Fail?

  I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Spanish-language edition of Newsweek. With this in mind, here is my first contribution that I sent to the magazine that circulates throughout the hemisphere.
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  Family, Machismo, and Cultural Change

  Readers of this blog have followed my thoughts on the cultural change that Mexico needs to unleash development. Specifically, I have made references to a culture of legality, effort, and wealth, values, family and business culture, among others.
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  Time to Educate

  During a recent visit to the Plantel Azteca campus to present tuition vouchers, I was reminded of how much I have enjoyed following the evolution of the school over the past 16 years.
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  Trust and Money

  Despite some recent apparent signs of improvement, in the past two years we’ve had very negative economic news from Europe, particularly from countries such as Spain, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Portugal. High unemployment, failed banks, fiscal insolvency, and a growing distrust of markets are just a few of the difficulties.
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  Time to help

  We have focused the 77th Movimiento Azteca fundraising and awareness campaign to direct resources to the affected communities through the Mexican Red Cross and Nacional Monte de Piedad. At the same time, Fundación Azteca is providing purified water to those left homeless by the floods.
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  With Movimiento Azteca, we envision a better tomorrow

  For those of us at Grupo Salinas, Generosity is a key value and the work undertaken by Fundacion Azteca is the first step in putting this into practice.
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  The secret to happiness

  What’s the secret to happiness? For decades, psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, scientists, spiritualists –and those lacking in that department– have tried to respond to this question. This summer it’s worth pondering such issues that transcend the realm of everyday concerns.
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  Celebrating 20 Years of Azteca

  Today marks the 20th anniversary of Azteca. It has been a magnificent journey... that has changed Mexico.
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  Starting Over: a way of life

  Reading a good book is always a pleasure, but if the work has been written by an endearing individual, the gratification multiplies. This is the case with the book Starting Over: a way of life, in which Luis J. Echarte, a senior manager at Grupo Salinas, shares his personal experiences and his vision of the world of business as a global executive who is not afraid of transformation.
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  Plantel Azteca School, a Great Investment in Mexico’s Future

  We recently had the graduation ceremony of the Plantel Azteca School, our social action project that has provided quality education for underprivileged youth for the past fifteen years.
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  Let’s Support Immigration Reform

  I recently had the privilege to speak on the subject of cultural change at the 12th National Convention of the American Chamber - Mexico. The thrust of my talk was that Mexico and the United States will always share a border and that it’s our job to take advantage of this proximity to benefit the more than 460 million people living in North America, 94% of whom reside in Mexico and the United States. It also makes good sense to expand prosperity to the nations of the Southern Hemisphere.
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  Be Prepared!

  A few weeks ago I had the privilege of personally meeting and spending time with his Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The King was in Mexico from April 24 to 27 to participate in the meeting of the World Scout Foundation, of which he is Honorary Chairman.
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  Today We Have a Much Cleaner Mexico

  On May 26, more than 7.5 million people in 150,104 brigades participated in the fifth Limpiemos Nuestro México (Let’s Clean Up Our Mexico) campaign. In all, we picked up 38,152 tons of trash, taking back our public spaces.
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  Let's Ditch the Excuses and Clean Up Our Mexico

  For the past few weeks, we have enthusiastically begun promoting the Limpiemos Nuestro México (Let’s Clean Up Our Mexico) 2013 campaign. This is the fifth year of a campaign that brings together public and private institutions as well as society in general.
• 

  A Case for Cultural Change

  Today is Teachers' Day in Mexico and it’s a good time to share a series of ideas that a friend and advisor, David Konzevik, presented during a conference on Mexico’s future, where he highlighted education of our youth as the cornerstone.
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  Freedom and Youth

  We recently held an awards ceremony for the 4th annual Caminos de la Libertad para Jóvenes, an event that celebrates the youthful expression of freedom. I’m proud of this program because it fosters reflection on freedom among youth throughout the Americas. This past year we received 1,866 entries from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.
• 

  Five Years

  It's been five years since my first blog post. From the start, my intention has been to create a forum to share ideas and a particular vision of business, the economy and technology. And of course, foment debate.
• 

  The Value of Short-Term Credit

  A while back, my friend Billy Webster, who built a great company, Advance America, testified before a U.S. Senate hearing. What he had to say is well worth consideration for those interested in financial inclusion.
• 

  Abundance

  Is it possible that advancing technology will permit us to end poverty, sickness, and otherserious problems? According to the book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, written by my friend Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, humanity should prepare itself for an abundant future. - See more at: http://ricardosalinas.com/blog/blog.aspx?lang=en&guid=005623de-ac25-46c4-8253-1cd1c188a50a#sthash.CBJJBTOp.dpuf
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  The Importance of Leadership

  Grupo Salinas has grown significantly in the last twenty years. From operating exclusively in the retail business, we have expanded to telecommunications, television, banking, insurance and pension fund administration, among many other industries. Added to all of this is our active participation in social action projects.
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  Curiosity

  A few days ago I participated in the 43rd World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. It’s always encouraging to participate in this type of forum, even in the conferences that might seem alien to us.
• 

  A Colombian connectivity project

  The Government of Colombia has given us a great example of state vision, through a well-designed subsidy to build the largest fiber optic network in Latin America.  With this network, connectivity will reach about 80% of Colombian territories, with a main focus on areas that today have limited access to modern communication and information systems.
• 

  The Juguetón Toy Drive

  Launched in 1994, the Juguetón drive was one of our first social projects and by now has become one of Grupo Salinas most distinctive corporate social responsibility campaigns.
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  Murdering hope at Sandy Hook

  It seems that we, the society, have become accustomed to the ever increasing uncontrollable violence all over the continent, but on this occasion it hurts me just to read the news. How long can we continue to tolerate so much destruction of life? How many more children have to die before we act?
• 

  Investing in our youth

  This blog often touches on business, management, corporate governance and the importance of creating a prosperous society. Today I’m going to refer to a very different type of investment, whose maturity is linked to the expectation of a bright future for our country, namely, children.
• 

  Lessons behind a choice

  In this life we must learn from all sorts of experiences, both personal as well as from others. I just returned from a trip to the US, and the recent presidential election in that country offers us different lessons we must take into account to improve our growing democracy.
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  Creation of shared social value

  Since the beginning of the 20th century, companies have been part of our culture and, like family, government or religion, they have become one of the institutional pillars of modern society.
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  The future belongs to Latin America

  A few weeks ago I gave a namesake lecture at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC, on the future of Latin America.
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  How we changed banking

  Ten years ago we started a very ambitious project that is now a reality: bringing banking services to the base of the pyramid in Latin America.
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  Freedom to communicate, a fundamental right

  Ideas make us unique; as human beings we define ourselves by them. However, they have little impact if we lack the ability to communicate. For example, if we did not have the ability to convey the scientific achievements we have obtained over the centuries, it would be impossible to accumulate the knowledge that we have gained.
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  Movimiento Azteca awareness and fund raising campaign for the Red Cross

  Two weeks ago, Fundación Azteca organized a Movimiento Aztecaawareness and fund raising campaign for the Mexican Red Cross, as it does every year. Personally, I am very pleased to contribute to this noble institution, due to the tremendous impact that its work has on our society and the impressive commitment of those who work with the Red Cross.
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  The value of what we are: the 2012 National Silver Award

  At Grupo Salinas, we have promoted since 2001 the preservation and dissemination of Mexico’s cultural heritage through Fomento Cultural Grupo Salinas. With this initiative, we have developed a number of projects that create social value in partnership with selected institutions and one of the projects that has taken on great significance is precisely the National Silver Award, named after my father, Hugo Salinas Price.
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  The Rational Optimist

  Blessed by an interesting and diverse professional career, Matt Ridley, whose claim to fame is as a zoologist, banker, journalist, and expert on evolution, is an author worth getting to know. In his latest book, The Rational Optimist, he invites us to adopt a positive view of the world, human capacity and global trade. According to Ridley, mankind has developed an unmatched capacity to resolve its most pressing challenges. Still the same, the pessimists have dominated the discussion of the most important global issues over the past 200 years. However, since Thomas Malthus, they have all failed in their forecasts.
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  Should TV be free?

  In the past few months I have received hundreds of messages and comments on my blog and my website in which I am asked to return the Azteca signal to certain cable systems that have refused to pay for the right to retransmit our broadcasts. The public deserves to know our position.
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  The Wealth of Nations

  It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.
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  A Single Movimiento Fundraising Campaign With 32 Different Causes

  At Grupo Salinas we take pride in the value of generosity. This inspires us to support projects that provide the means and tools for the development of those in need.
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  Kybernus: Leadership matters

  Today is the last day for election campaigning, but beyond the flood of advertising spots that people have suffered through, and given a complex environment such as the one we face -characterized by economic crisis, insecurity, lack of trust by citizens toward the authorities, etc.- the question of social and political leadership has become crucial. But why is it so important? Lets take a look.
• 

  Give away drugs?

  Readers of my blog and those who have attended my lectures know that I have often voiced the need to consider a change of strategy in the fight against drugs. The current approach to eradicate the production, distribution, and consumption of drugs is not working because it ignores the economic forces at play. I ask: where are the economists, these supposed experts in supply and demand? Their silence is very convenient.
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  Hear to listen to the music of life

  Thanks to Fundación Azteca, our viewers, and institutions that contributed to this Movimiento Azteca campaign, we collected 7,900,000 pesos, exceeding our initial goal of raising 5,000,000 pesos. As a result, the Fundación Starkey will donate 8,000 high-quality hearing aids to 4,000 children with hearing problems from low-income families.
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  The Truth Will Set Us Free

  The most important human value is freedom. But freedom can be gradually lost. This is why I admire youth from all classes who today are taking to the streets to defend freedom with elation, enthusiasm, courage, and respect for their fellow citizens (we have seen isolated cases that reflect the opposite, but they are not worth mentioning).
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  A device that will change your life

  Through an email I received some time ago, this video shows a great device designed to increase knowledge.
• 

  The debate and soccer

  In the past few days what some have called the "debate about the debate" has taken place. I think its worth explaining my position on this matter, beyond a simple "tweet" and the speculations that have been emerged as a result.
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  Rockefellers creed

  In one of my recent trips to New York City I had the opportunity to see this plaque located at Rockefeller Center. I think it is very worthwhile to share this creed, and to reflect on the values of freedom with full responsibility that it conveys.
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  Lets Consider a Change

  Today I am in the beautiful city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, where I have the honor of participating in the CEO Summit of the Americas 2012, which is taking place in the framework of the VI Summit of the Americas, attended by the main heads of state and government of the hemisphere.
• 

  Movimiento Azteca supports Mexican artisans

  We recently held the 66th Movimiento Azteca fundraising and awareness campaign together with Nacional Monte de Piedad and the Veracruz and Chiapas state governments to support Fundación Arte-Sano. This is the first time we have worked with this organization, which supports the production and marketing of handicrafts in indigenous communities through fair trade practices.
• 

  Learn from your mistakes

  La semana pasada estuve en Long Beach para Last week I was in Long Beach to attend the TED conference. Most of you are familiar with TED. It’s an organization dedicated to spreading revolutionary ideas to improve our world. There were several conferences that stood out, and I’ll soon post some blogs on them.
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  Thanks to you, today we have a cleaner Mexico

  On Sunday, February 26, more than six million people organized into 120,000 brigades, joining together for the fourth consecutive year of our Limpiemos Nuestro México campaign to clean up our public spaces. This is a monumental effort that brought together federal government agencies, civic organizations, businesses, and society in general.
• 

  Let’s Ditch the Excuses and Clean Up Our Mexico

  For the past few weeks, we have enthusiastically begun promoting the Limpiemos Nuestro México (Let’s Clean Up Our Mexico) 2013 campaign. This is the fifth year of a campaign that brings together public and private institutions as well as society in general.
• 

  The telco monopoly costs Mexican families US$1,000 per year

  Iusacell was recently notified of the Federal Competition Commission’s (COFECO) refusal to authorize its request for Grupo Televisa’s equity investment in this telecommunications company.
• 

  Dead Aid

  One of my favorite talks from Ciudad de las Ideas was presented by Dambisa Moyo, a brilliant economist from Zambia whose focus on poverty, development, and economic cooperation has been recognized, although not always accepted, throughout the world.
• 

  2011 was a year of consolidation and growth

  As I have mentioned in previous entries, this past year was difficult for the global economy. Nevertheless, thanks to your efforts, I can say that Grupo Salinas has met success once again. Now is a good moment to reflect on the environment, our strategies, actions and results; a moment to take stock of what we have achieved together in each of our businesses and socially oriented projects.
• 

  The Criollos in the Mirror

  One of my biggest passions is Mexican history. Every time I learn more about this topic, I realize that our history is neither linear nor simple, nor Manichean, as some politicians would have us believe.
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  Understanding and defending freedom

  El pasado 25 de noviembre tuvimos el placer de celebrar la libertad en torno a los ganadores del sexto concurso de ensayo de Caminos de la Libertad. Estuvimos acompañados de un gran novelista y pensador que ha construido su obra en torno a la idea de la libertad: Mario Vargas Llosa.
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  102 ambulances for the Mexican Red Cross

  No quiero dejar pasar la ocasión para comentar en mi blog que Movimiento Azteca en su edición número 65, convocó a la sociedad para apoyar a la Cruz Roja Mexicana, con una gran respuesta: el 29 de septiembre, miles de mexicanos demostramos una vez más la solidaridad que nos caracteriza, haciendo nuestra aportación para una causa que salvará miles de vidas.
• 

  The good banker

  En estos tiempos de crisis recurrentes, los banqueros son bastante impopulares alrededor del mundo y no debe extrañarnos: la causa del estallido de la crisis financiera, y la Gran Recesión de 2008 puede rastrearse en los riesgos extremos e irracionales que tomaron los bancos, principalmente en Estados Unidos, mientras que hoy en Europa, la baja capitalización bancaria pone en riesgo al sistema monetario europeo y a la economía global –simplemente esta semana, otra institución de Wall Street se declaró en quiebra, por pérdidas en sus posiciones de deuda europea y posibles actos de fraude.
• 

  Points and counterpoints on organized crime

  There is considerable material circulating on the Internet regarding organized crime. I was especially drawn recently to two specific items. On the one hand, an alleged interview, whose authenticity has been questioned, of a nebulous Brazilian crime boss known as Marcola and on the other, a conference and interview with Edgardo Buscaglia, an international expert and consultant for the UN. It is worth reviewing this material with an open mind and a very critical eye.
• 

  Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

  I have shared my thoughts on leadership in several of entries. With his history and experiences, Steve Jobs embodied many of these reflections on this crucial issue.
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  Wireless Internet access by 2020

  A recent trip to Asia, where I had the opportunity to exchange insights with some of our technology providers and see some gadget prototypes first hand, got me thinking about where we stand.
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  Lessons learned in 2064 years

  Hablando de líderes, Marco Tulio Cicerón (106 a.C. - 43 a.C.) fue un estadista en todos los sentidos: buen orador, hábil escritor, filósofo, historiador, jurista y político. Fue Cónsul de la República Romana y compartió el poder con Cayo Antonio Hybrida.
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  The Project of a Nation

  En diversas ocasiones he comentado que, al navegar en aguas turbulentas, es fundamental confiar en quién lleva el timón. Después de la peor crisis financiera global en un casi un siglo, hoy los mares siguen picados.
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  Opening up technologies, bridging gaps

  Este Movimiento lo dedicamos por primera vez a la tecnología aplicada a la educación. Gracias al apoyo de nuestra audiencia logramos reunir P$59,100,000 que se emplearán para adquirir equipos de cómputo en beneficio de más de 17 millones de niños en áreas rurales y marginadas en Aguascalientes, Campeche, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa y Yucatán.
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  What can you do for Mexico?

  Muchas cosas negativas ocurren en nuestro país. A los medios de comunicación nos tachan de amarillistas y somos criticados si las señalamos; pero si no lo hacemos, nos tildan de encubridores.
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  Imagining a future for street children

  Una de nuestras causas principales en Fundación Azteca es la niñez, de ahí nuestro esfuerzo constante por atender los distintos problemas que enfrenta, especialmente cuando está expuesta a la doble vulnerabilidad de la pobreza y las enfermedades.
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  The Collapse of Complex Societies

  Se habla mucho sobre catástrofes naturales, extinción de recursos naturales, invasiones, o los malos manejos de los gobiernos como causas de la decadencia de muchas civilizaciones destacadas –me vienen a la mente las distintas teorías sobre el colapso de los mayas, por ejemplo, donde una simple búsqueda en Google nos ofrece múltiples resultados.
• 

  Who benefits from the welfare state?

  Recientemente compartí mis puntos de vista sobre la crisis de finanzas públicas en Grecia. Por su parte, un amable lector considera que la crisis griega es un síntoma de que el sistema capitalista se encuentra en estado de coma. Con todo respeto, difiero.
• 

  Greek Lessons

  Financial discipline goes beyond businesses and households. I have commented in the past on government spending and the dangers of governments that are not committed to balancing budgets.
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  Our Youth Should Dream Big

  Education is a necessity of modern civilization for acquiring knowledge, as well as developing skills, working in teams and expanding intelligence.
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  Ciudad Juarez, more than a border

  On June 13, I shared the exciting Esperanza Azteca concert in Ciudad Juarez with you through Twitter. The 222 boys and girls of the orchestra and choir have taken the first step toward a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities.
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  Thanks once again for cleaning up our Mexico

  Thanks to all of you, the third edition of the Limpiemos Nuestro México (LNM) cleanup campaign was a great success, which we can all share and enjoy. About 3,312,000 people organized in 82,500 brigades participated, and together collected 17,000 tons of garbage in four hours. This effort received the support and participation of 40,000 schools, the Environmental Ministry (SEMARNAT), the Public Education Ministry (SEP), and Grupo Bimbo. With this, we have shown that it is possible to transform our environment, and in addition, the LNM campaigns are a great opportunity to display leadership and show our love for Mexico.
• 

  Thanks for your comments. Here are some ideas

  I do not usually respond directly to questions submitted through the comments section, but here we have an exception. Given the importance of the industry, I think it’s worth clarifying some issues that were brought up in response to the previous blog entry, where the existence of a television "duopoly" was questioned.
• 

  The Television "Duopoly"

  whether in fact there really is a television duopoly in Mexico. It’s clear that in terms of the viewer audience in over-the-air, free television, TV Azteca and its main competitor Televisa have captured a considerable share of the total. However, this is the result of large investments in coverage, talent, and programming that corresponds to viewer preferences, something that not even the government, with all the resources at its disposal, has been able to successfully duplicate.
• 

  On Mother’s Day…

  Ward Howe reminded us that women have the responsibility of shaping societies. Mothers inculcate values in their children from the onset and educate. Their role is very important for the development of children and as a group, women are strategically important for the country’s future.
• 

  A Stronger Iusacell for Mexico

  I’m very excited about the news that Grupo Iusacell has sold a 50% equity stake to Grupo Televisa for US$1.60 billion.
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  HUMANITREE

  Education is a recurring theme in this blog. The reason is very simple: human capital is the most important form of wealth. And strengthening it, exalting the talents and capacities of each individual, is the only road to develop our country from the bottom up. This is a feasible goal and we should fulfill it.
• 

  The Five Routes of Hernán Cortés

  Fomento Cultural Grupo Salinas (FCGS) recently presented the book “Las cinco rutas de Hernán Cortés” by Juan Miralles, one of the top historians in Mexico.
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  Can Mexico Trade Guns for Violins?

  Sometimes big problems are best solved with lots of small and creative solutions. Fundación Azteca, Grupo Salinas nonprofit arm which provides family support and promotes environmental awareness and social responsibility, has one project that is currently reaching 5,000 youths throughout Mexico: the Esperanza Azteca youth orchestra system.
• 

  Fast and Furious

  Through a magnificent investigative effort by CBS, and thanks to the declarations of a brave official of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), we found out that Operation “Fast and Furious” tolerated the flow of thousands of weapons into Mexico.
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  Change is Possible

  n my End of the Year Message, I commented that “success should not immobilize us. […] Each of the sectors in which we participate will continue evolving, and Grupo Salinas should be at the forefront of this evolution.” We will continue to promote change. I also commented on this topic in a reference to the book "The Tipping Point," written by Malcolm Gladwell.
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  Movimiento Azteca for Life

  The 60th edition of the Movimiento Azteca fundraising and awareness campaign was held in collaboration with the Instituto Carlos Slim para la Salud and Fundación Inbursa. I’m happy to say that we raised P$8.71 million, which will help 290 low-income patients receive a kidney transplant.
• 

  “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s”

  Here are some quick reflections on a book on the life of Julius Caesar, one of the most important figures in history. Some of the lessons from this man, who dictated a good part of global political, economic and military actions in the 1st century BC, are still valuable today.